I believe public education to be important because it is a basic human right. It is a significant factor in the development of children and communities. Without public education we would be living in a different world.

The best thing about the Simcoe County District School Board is –

The best thing about the SCDSB is the Parent Involvement Committee (PIC). This team has worked extremely hard to overcome the roadblocks of sharing information to school councils in Simcoe County. Although there is a disconnect between what rules say councils should be doing and what they end up spending most of their time doing, PIC members have done an excellent job in parent and community engagement. The PIC works diligently to make connections to school council chairs throughout our county and is succeeding. Without parental and community involvement our schools would look much different than they do today.

A note from Donna DaSilva:

I am extremely passionate about school climates that promote healthy relationships. I believe having Safe School Teams that follow ministry guidelines in all schools can help prevent some of the negative consequences of isolation, rejection and victimization by peers. We need improved supervision and clear concise rules, with whole school policies for all to follow. We need more parent involvement in our schools especially at the secondary level. Students need to have a voice in their schools and be heard. It would be advantageous to offer social skills and emotional intelligence training to all students. Having more after-school programs where parents can volunteer would be a great opportunity for students. Working collaboratively with the community for safe, secure and welcoming schools for all students is what I see in the future. The school board is where we have collaboration with community. It is almost impossible to accomplish any of this without the SCDSB.